Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Buy This Book! or My Interview With an Awesome Vegan Author

When I first heard that my former colleague and rockstar writer/editor Elizabeth Castoria landed herself a snazzy
book deal, my first thought was “what the hell took so long?!” The girl's got talent by the bucketful,
and it just so happens that her specialty sits at the intersection of creative
writing, information sharing, and vegan know-how.

Pretty ... freaking awesome! The author gives good face AND good advice.

Elizabeth's melded those above-par skills
and packaged them up for inquisitive would-be herbivores in her gorgeous
inside-and-out How To Be Vegan (Workman Publishing/Artisan Books,
2014).

Written in her uniquely witty voice, How To Be Vegan answers all the burning questions
you and everyone you know might have about living a plant-based lifestyle,
including perennial favorite “where do you get your protein?” It also
includes loads of I-need-to-make-this-right-now recipes (developed by prolific vegan powerhouse/culinary genius Robin Robertson), awesome flow charts, and even a
Venn diagram or two.

The best way to learn all about Elizabeth's book is to go out and buy it--for yourself, for your friends, your family, your neighbors, and maybe even your cat, if you roll that way. The second best? Read this interview!

Q.So much good stuff in this book! What was your favorite part of the writing process?

Thank you! It was such a blast to write, and I definitely hope that people have an
equally good time reading it. It was really fun to try and think up all the
questions that someone who’s new to eating plants might have. It’s been so long
(roughly 15 years!) since I made the switch that my lifestyle is a little bit
on autopilot. So, getting to rethink all the things that I do to make living
this way easy and enjoyable was definitely fun.

Gorgeous, n'est ce pas? Makes you want to go out + get a copy!

Q.What piece of advice do you share in this book that you wish someone had shared with you when you were going vegan?

Good question! Like most teenagers, I was a little bit needlessly intense when I
first went vegan, and that carried on for a few years. I had pretty inflexible
ideas about living this way, and I made some judgements that I wouldn’t make
today. There’s a fun little diagram in the book that has two circles like you
might see in a Venn diagram labelled “Judgement” and “Your Thoughts” and there’s
no overlap between them. Frankly, I wish I’d had this advice (or, more likely,
actually listened to it!) when I was younger because judgement of ourselves and
others is such a waste of valuable energy. Like, I could have been mastering
computer coding with all the time I frittered away worrying about other people’s
business.

Q.I swooned over the section on vegan travel destinations. What's
your favorite out-of-town escape and what makes it so special?

You were one of the people who inspired that section, you world traveler. I hope to
catch up to your country tally someday! As far as the places I have been, I
love New Mexico. My dad grew up in Albuquerque, and we used to take family road
trips out there every few years when I was a kid. I’ve been enchanted with that
land my whole life, and it’s something that just deepens as I get older. Last
year I visited Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Truth or Consequences, and White Sands
with my sweetie, and it was so lovely to get to share something that’s held
such a special place for me with him. And, duh, green chile sauce is the food
of the gods.

Q. I did not know Nutter Butters were vegan and am very upset I haven't been eating these for the last
14 years. What other edible treats might readers be surprised to learn they don't have to relinquish when bidding
adieu to dairy and meat?

Nutter Butters are one of the things that I love to treat myself to when I’m flying
somewhere because just about every airport in the States has them, and flying
makes me nervous, which necessitates treats. I think it’s pretty solid logic. A
few other surprisingly vegan goodies (and by “goodies” I definitely mean things
that are processed beyond belief and probably aren’t technically food—as in,
delicious) include Oreos (even the birthday cake flavor!), Wheat Thins, Cap’n
Crunch, and Fritos. Basically, everything at a gas station, minus all the
jerky.

Q. You've sold 1,000,000 copies of your book and don't have to worry about working for
a while. What does the future look like for the world's luckiest vegan author?

Oooh, I like
the way you think! First, trip to Paris during which I’ll beg you to show me
all the great places to eat around town, and we will drink all of the
Champagne. All of it. Remorselessly. I know it’s a little cliche to say that
I’d travel more, but I really would!

Nice interview, however I do take issue with Elizabeth's sanguine view of the availability of decent food.Aside from the fact that gas station food is vegan, it is also highly processed, GM, and poisonous.

Hi, Frank! Having worked with E for years, I can say unequivocally that she's not a junk-food vegan nor does she advocate eating crap in general, but you wouldn't know that from this casual interview. I asked about Nutter Butters because a lot of folks who are considering dietary change for non-health reasons (animals, the environment) are anxious about giving up favorite foods and being resigned to "just eating kale." We longtime vegans know that kale--and brown rice, veggies, beans, tempeh, etc.--are the bomb-diggity, but it's good to have "transitional foods" on your radar when you're a newbie. xoxo